Car-vestibule diaphragm.



W. H. FORSYTH. CAR VESTIBULE DIAPHRAGM. APPLIGATION FILED JAN. 9, 1914.

1,095,836, Patented May 5, 1914.

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WILLIAM H. ronsY'rII, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGNOE. To T'HE CURTAIN SUPPLY' COMPANY,- OE NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY.

CAR-VESTIBULE DIAPHRAGIVI.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 5, 1914.

Application filed January 9, 1914. Serial No. 811,115.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. FOR-l and useful Improvements in Car-VestbuloV Diaphragms, of which the following is a specication.

In many styles of railway oars it is customary to use Collapsible accordion plaited diaphragms and it is often desirable and even necessary to tilt the outer face plate to which the diaphragm is attached in order to obtain access to the bufhng mechanism of the car for purposes of repair, adjustment or replacement. Considerable difliculty has been experienced in thus tilting the face plate on account of the fact that when this operation is performed the plaits of the diaphragm are liable to become torn by being expanded beyond their capacity. In view of these conditions it has been proposed to separably connect either adjacent plaits ofthe diaphragm legs in their lower portion with each other, or to connect in a similar manner diaphragm legs with the Outer diaphragm face plate Or car face plate, the connecting means being in some lcases manually releasable, and in other cases and more advantageously automatically releasable, as exemplified for instance in Patents Nos. 1,056,407 and 1,078,781 heretofore granted to me.

It is of great importancevthat the separable connect-ions be automatically releasable as in this way it becomes impossible for the diaphragm to become torn ,or otherwise injured through the negligence or forgetfulness of the workman. It is also important that the release of the securing means shall be eected only as occasion may require and not accidentally 'by shocks, jars and relative movements of the parts incident to train operation.

The object of the invention is therefore primarily to provide a separable connection of the parts whereby to permit the tilting of the face plate, such connection being subject to release thereof when such plate is actually tilted.

In Order that the invention and its operation may be readily understood a preferred embodiment of the same is set forth in the accompanying drawing and in the. description based thereon. As, however, the inven tion is susceptible of embodiment 'in other and varied constructional forms the drawing'and description are to be construed in an illustrative and not in an unnecessarily limiting sense.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a side elevat1on o-f the car diaphragm equipped with the invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through the diaphragm on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and Figs. 8, 4, and 5 are detail views showingthe latch device and its operating means in front elevation, side elevation, and top plan, respectively.

As illustrated the end of the car is represented at 11, provided with lan end face plate 12, between which and the diaphragm face plate 13 the expansible accordion plaited diaphragm 14 is mounted. Each leg of the diaphragm is provided with separable portions. The separation maybe arranged for between the diaphragm and its face plate 13, or between two adjacent plaits of the diaphragm, or between the diaphragm and the car end face plate 12. As chosen for purposes of illustration the separable connection is between the car face plate and the diaphragm and is effected by hinging at 15 the marginal stiening member 16 of the plait so as to permit its lower portion to swing upon said hinge in a vertical plane longitudinally of the car.

A separable connection between the diaphragm leg and face plate is effected by mounting upon the face plate 12 one or more transversely apertured keepers 17. Each keeper is in the form of a stud projecting from the end plate and adapted to project through an opening formed in the st-iifening member 16. The latter has mounted thereon studs 18 provided with transverse apertures, the axes of which are parallel to the axis of t-he aperture in the keeper 17, and mounted for reciprocation wit-hin the apertures of the studs 18 Vare the two arms 19, 19 of a yoke 20 which has formed integral therewith between its two arms a bolt' 21 adapted to enter the aperture of the keeper 17. The tWo arms 19, 19 of each latch device are enveloped by springs 22, 22 bearing at one end upon the studs 18 and at the other end upon pins 28, 23 carried by the arms. The extreme ends of the arms are apertured to provide bearings forrrollers 24, 24. The ends of the arms equipped with the rollers 24 extend into the space within soA the fold of the diaphragm plait and to a position in such relation with one wall et the same that when the diaphragm is by the tilting or its face plate expanded beyond its normal limits the said wall of the diaphragm fold, which is for the purpose provided with a wear plate 25, impinges against the roller 211 and presses the arms of the yoke backward against the tension of the springs 2.2 thereby withdrawing the bolt 21 from the aperture of the keeper 17 and releasing the hinged member 1G so as to permit it to swing upon the hinge 15 and thus permit the plaits of the diaphragm to 'follow7 the tilting of the face plate 13 without being subjected to any strain.

It will be observed that by the expansion and contraction of the diaphragm unser normal conditions the latch operating arms are not engaged by the wear plate Q5 and the connection between the bolt 21 and the keeper 17 of the latch device remains intact under the retaining influence et the springs 22, and it is only when the face plate of the vestibule is actually tilted so as to expand the diaphragm beyond normal lim` its that the wear plate actuates the operating arms 19 so as to withdraw the bolt 21 from the keeper 17 and thus release the separable connection between the parts.

I claim:

1. A car vestibule construction including face plates and an expansible diaphragm connected thereto and bridging the space therebetween, the legs of said vestibule construction including separable portions, a latch device for holding together the separable portions, and latclroperating means arranged to be acted upon by the tilting of the face plate to release the latch, substan tially as described.

Q. A car vestibule construction including face plates and an expansible diaphragm connected thereto and bridging the space therebetween, the legs of said vestibule construction including separable portions, a latch device for holding together the separable portions, and latchoperating means arranged to be actuated by a movable portion et said vestibule construction to release the latch upon the expanding of the diaphragm beyond normal limits, substantially as described.

3. A car vestibule construction including face plates and an expansible diaphragm connected thereto and bridging the space therebetween, the legs oi3 said vestibule construction including separable portions, a latch. device for holding' together the separable portions, and latch-operating means comprising an arm arranged in the path of and adapted to be engaged by the movable portion of the diaphragm upon the expanding of the lat-ter beyond normal limits, substantially as described.

4. A car vestibule construction including tace plates and an expansible diaphragm connected thereto and bridging the space therebetween, the legs of said vestibule construction including separable portions, a latch device for holding together the separable portions, and latch-operating means comprising an arm disposed within a fold oit the diaphragm and adapted to be engaged by the wall thereof upon the expanding of the diaphragm beyond normal limits, substantially as described.

5. A car Avestibule construction including tace plates and an expansible diaphragm connected thereto and bridging the space therebetween, the legs of said vestibule construction including separable portions, a latch device for holding together the separable portions, said latch device comprising a keeper mounted upon one of the adjacent separable portions and a bolt mounted on another and engaging within the keeper, and latch operating means arranged to be act-uated by the tilting of the tace plate to withdraw the bolt from the keeper, substantially as described.

6. A car vestibule construction including face plates and an expansible diaphragm connected thereto and bridging the space therebetween, the legs of said vestibule construction including separable portions, a latch device for holding together the separable portions, said latch device comprising a keeper mounted on one of the adjacent separable portions and a spring pressed bolt mounted on another and engaging within the keeper, and latch-operating means arranged to be actuated upon the expanding of the diaphragm beyond normal limits and to withdraw the bolt from the keeper in opposition to the spring, substantially as described.

7. A car vestibule construction including face plates and an expansible diaphragm connected thereto and bridging the space therebetween, the legs of said vestibule construction including separable portions, a latch device for holding together the sepa. rable portions, said latch-device comprising a keeper mounted upon one of the adjacent separable portions, and a bolt mounted upon another and engaging within the keeper', and latch-operating means comprising an arm extending to a position within a fold of the diaphragm, and a roller carried by the arm and adapted to be engaged by the wall ci the fold and upon the expanding of the diaphragm beyond normal limits, substantially as described.

8. A car vestibule construction including face plates and an expansible diaphragm connected thereto and bridging the space therebetween, the legs of said vestibule construction including separable portions, a latch device for holding together the sepalll@ rable portions, said latch device comprising a keeper in the form of an apertured stud mounted upon one of the face plates and projecting through an opening in the adjacent edge of the diaphragm plait, and 'a bolt mounted on the plait and engaging within the aperture of the projecting keeper, and latch-operating means comprising an arm connected to the bolt and disposed Within the fold of the plait and adapted to be engaged by the wall thereof and to withdraw the bolt from the keeper upon the eX- panding of the diaphragm beyond normal limits, substantially as described.

9. A car vestibule construction including face plates and an expansible diaphragm connected thereto and bridging the space therebetween, the legs o-said vestibule construction including separable portions, a latch device :tor holding together the separable portions, said latch device comprising a keeper' in the form of an apertured stud mounted upon one of the separable portions and adapted to project through an opening in the adjacent separable portion, a pair of apertured studs carried by the adjacent separable portion, a yoke member having arms mounted for reciprocation within the last mentioned apertured studs, a bolt carried by e t the yoke member and adapted to engage within the keeper, and latch-operating means arranged to be actuated by the expansion of the diaphragm beyond normal limits,

substantially as described.

10. A car vestibule construction including face plates and an expansible diaphragm connected thereto and bridging the space therebetween, the legs of said vestibule construction including separable portions, a latch device for holding together the separable portions, said latch device comprising a keeper inthe form of an apertured stud mounted upon one of the separable portions and adapted to project through an opening in the adjacent separable portion,

a pair of apertured studs carried by the adjacent separable portion, a yoke member having arms mounted for reciprocation within the last mentioned apertured studs, a bolt carried by the yoke member and adapted to engage within the keeper, springs mounted upon said arms and tending to hold the bolt in engagement with the keeper, and latch operating means arranged to be actuated upon the tilting oi the face plate to withdraw the bolt from the keeper in opposition to the springs, substantially as described.

ll. A car vestibule construction including face plates and an expansible diaphragm connected thereto and bridging the space therebetween, the legs of said vestibule construction including separable portions, a latch device for holding together the separable portions, said latch device comprising a keeper in the form of an apertured stud mounted upon one of the'separable portions and adapted to project through an opening in the adjacent separable portion, a pair of apertured studs carried by the adjacent separable portion, a yoke member having arms mounted for reciprocation within the last mentioned apertured studs, a bolt carried by the yoke member and adapted to engage within the keeper, springs mounted upon said arms and tending to hold the bolt in engagement with the keeper, and latch-operating means comprising rollers carried by the arms in a position in the path of and adapted to be engaged by the wall of a plait upon the expanding of the diaphragm beyond normal limits, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. FORSYTII.

Witnesses:

R. S.` REYNOLDS, Guo. REIDENBACH.

f Copies of this patent may b e obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

